But United Streetcar has yet to manufacture a single vehicle and work has been anything but smooth.

Officials expected United Streetcar to deliver all five vehicles to the city for initial testing by June 5, according to the contract's payment schedule. But none is ready.

In fact, United Streetcar has yet to complete wiring and begin stationary testing for the first car -- which should have happened by Dec. 30, according to the payment schedule negotiated last year.

The most pressing contractual deadline is July 10, the date Portland is supposed to take formal possession of the first streetcar. Officials say that won't happen, either, and they're instead targeting Sept. 8.

The contract calls for four of the five cars to arrive before the line's scheduled opening. But MacNichol said United Streetcar may have only one or perhaps two vehicles ready for service.

"Once they figure it out, they think they can really crank it out," he said of finishing the first car. "That said, I'm not guaranteeing we're going to hit that schedule. We still have a lot of uncertainty in front of us."

At United Streetcar's headquarters, Portland's streetcar shells have been assembled and painted in bright neon colors. Inside the first streetcar, wires dangle overhead as workers finish key connections.

"It looks like, geez, look at all these wires," said Yraguen, the Oregon Iron Works president. "Most of this is so you can test it."

Yraguen said he has a "high level of confidence" that the streetcar will pass stationary testing and move to the company's new on-site test track by the end of July.

United Streetcar has used its Portland contract to parlay business across the country.

In December, leaders in Washington, D.C., initially blessed an $8.7 million contract for two vehicles from United Streetcar. But officials later backtracked when streetcar manufacturer Inekon challenged the award.

The Czech Republic company noted that United Streetcar had a "lack of basic qualifications and experience" and should have been disqualified on technical merits. Even so, Washington D.C., leaders pushed through a separate deal in April by piggybacking on Portland's existing contract and avoiding another competitive process.

If United Streetcar doesn't deliver its Portland vehicles on time, the city could charge damages of $300 per day. But Dan Anderson, a spokesman for the Portland Bureau of Transportation, said officials must wait until after the contract expires Oct. 30 and will have no comment until then.